Flip Side of a Coin
by Avalon Kore
Summary: Alternate ending to the movie: Order of Phoenix. Harry didn't succeed in banishing Voldemort from his head; the Dark Lord couldn't fully possess Harry either. The Boy-Who-Lived soon found himself stuck in Malfoy Manor, pretending to be Voldemort himself amongst Death Eaters. At least he's in control... or perhaps not. Non-slash.
1. Failure

Hey guys, after Voldemort showed up in my house and "Avada Kedavra"-ed my behind for putting him in a fanfiction, I had quite the trouble recovering, but here I am! Ok, that was a lie. It was just I finally realized that I've been lying to myself for quite a while. I was confused about my life... not a mid-life crises... what do you call this? Teenage angst? lol but I'm ok now... I think... gosh I hate having to promise anything but I should be sane for the next few months, just enough to do... well... stuff. Please accept my sincere apology. *deep bow* Corrupted by Light will return as my summer start again. Though I should probably cram for MCAT, but your happiness comes first! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own_ Harry Potter_ by JK Rowling.

*SPOILER ALERT* I got the idea of this story while reading_ Strange Case of and _ by Robert Louis Stevenson. As stated in summary, this happens after Voldemort tries to possess Harry near the end of the movie: Order of Phoenix, I hope I didn't spoil the movie for any one. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

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**Failure**

Harry laid on the cold, stone ground. Panting from exhaustion, his bright emerald eyes gradually dulled, before long, they were reduced to mere empty glass balls.

The movement of his chest slowed until it finally ceased. His fingers came lose from the fists they held moments ago.

Dumbledore crouched beside him silently. His benevolence face was deeply pained as the old man reached out to ease close the boy's eyes.

"Harry...You are the most fierce Gryffindor Hogwarts has ever seen. May you be blessed in the afterlife." The old Headmaster stood up. Slowly, he raised his wand.

Dumbledore had never felt so hollow about using magic for his entire life, but this time, it was different. The tip of his wand quivered, as if it was uncertain of its master's intention.

"NO!" Hermione screamed, she sprang forward but was restrained by Ron, who averted his eyes from his best mate, jaw clenched.

Behind them, Neville let out a choked noise. Luna inched closer to Neville, her frail arms reached out to embrace his shuddering shoulders. Neville gripped the girl tightly and turned around so he wouldn't have to face the body lying on the floor. His large frame trembled as he let out a low whimper.

Ginny stood alone, away from the embracing couples. Her eyes hollow and unseeing, her bottom lip trembled, but she bit down hard on it, lest the inhumane sound roaring inside her head escape her lips. Subconsciously, she let her arms wrap tighter around herself. The chilliness within the tall walls of Ministry seems to have finally bit into her skin for the first time; along with it, the numbness and emptiness covered her like a blanket. Ginny bit down harder until she felt warm liquid trail down the corner of her mouth. The dull pain of her nails digging into her flesh had been the only reminder that it was not a dream, that it was the horrible reality she's currently living in.

Dumbledore's eyes were filled with grief as he muttered the two words and a green light filled the spacious hall.

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**Author's note: **Short chapter, I know. It's been a while since the last time a creative word came sprouting out of my mouth. It feels like I've been using a different part of my brain to write all my science papers. Also, time to relearn some of the British terminology mentioned in Harry Potter! (Sorry, UK, we love you, but our everyday words are different.) Anyhow, I will update this story faster than usual, possibly an update every 2-3 days. Tell me what you think! :)


	2. Denial

**Author's Note:** Finals are finally over! My brain seems to be completely wasted over science subjects. Still getting used to the idea of writing again. Will try to get back to Corrupted by Light as soon as possible! :)

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**Denial**

Hermione woke up, she stretched her body lazily, her chest felt strangely compressed. _Must be due to the way I was sleeping_.

She cleaned up in the bathroom and headed down to the Great Hall. Upon entrance, the place was eerily quiet. At the teacher's desk, McGonagall and Dumbledore were nowhere to be seen, even Snape seemed to be spacing out.

Hermione walked to where Harry and Ron usually sat, but Harry wasn't there. Hermione smiled brightly at Ron.

"Hi, Ron! Where's Harry?" The red head glanced up at her, startled, Hermione noted that he looked horrible.

Beard stubs were prominent on his chin. Blood shot eyes peered at her from under a head full of red hair which could be easily mistaken for bird's nest.

Ron seemed to space out as he studied her without answering her question.

"Harry-" Further down the table, a voice began hesitantly.

Hermione followed the source of the voice, her gaze landed and froze on Neville, who didn't look any better in comparison. The boy was just as unkempt, bruise-like circles hung under his eyes. It looked like he hasn't slept for days.

"He'll be down in a minute." Ron finished quickly. He gave Neville a pointed look and offered her a weary smile; his face pale.

Hermione sat down. The hall was practically silent. The students were not eating. Instead, they looked down at their laps, even the Slytherins were oddly subdued.

Ignoring those around her, Hermione dined. The clanking of her knife and fork echoed loudly in the hall, a few pairs of eyes landed on her, but other than that, it was as if Hermione was the only living thing in the large space.

She stuffed her face with food, and even offered Ron some, but the red head just shook his head, which was shocking considering how Ron seems to practically worship the act of eating despite what the situation was.

The students sat in silence, eventually, the first bell rang and people began to file out of the Great Hall. Again, they did it as silently as they could, nobody talked, they shuffled out the door softly.

The rest of the day went by like any other normal day, except the students never whispered a single thing in class and the professors went through their lecture monotonously.

Harry never showed up.

Whenever Hermione questioned, Ron simply told her with a tired half smile that Harry was stuck in the washroom because he ate something bad last night. The corner of his lip trembled every time he mentioned the name of his best mate.

Ron had kept up his sullen demeanor throughout the day.


	3. Gone

**Gone**

A few more days have passed. Soft chatters begun to rise in the halls of Hogwarts, but its usual liveliness was gone.

The Gryffindors and the Slytherins were oddly cooperative in classes. It felt like the old rivalry between the two houses has been sucked dry. Not that Hermione was a big fan of stupid commodities between the two houses. They had always distracted her from studying, but the place was too quiet. Even the professors lost their usual sharp edge and taught in monotones.

Hermione had been hanging around Luna for the past few days. The Ravenclaw seemed to have lost most of her dreaminess, only to be replaced by a haunted emptiness that was out of place for someone like Luna. She was pale as a ghost. What made Hermione worry more was that Luna has stopped saying random things that nobody could understand.

Hermione frowned as she remembered Ginny. Ron said she's sick and she could scarcely step out of her dorm to attend class. But the last time when Hermione had peeked through her door which was left ajar, Ginny was not there.

_ Instead, she saw a mop of red hair under the cover. The lump on the bed shifted, revealing an unrecognizable face from underneath the blanket. _

_ Flushed and puffy, dark eyes bored into hers like an abandoned soul seeking for destruction; yet at the same time, Hermione felt like she might be sucked into the abyss before her. Scab covered lips opened and closed, but no sounds came out. _

_ Hermione backed out slowly under the watchful eyes. Her heart pounding. As soon as she felt the hinge of the door, she catapulted herself out the room. Slamming the door behind her, she fled from the place like a bewildered animal. _

Troubled by the memory as she wandered the hall, Hermione did not notice the pair of arms that shot out from the shadows.

A small squeal escaped her as she was shoved against the wall roughly. Her frightened eyes met a pair of blue ones.

Ron looked at her intently, bruise-like bags hung under his eyes. His Adam's Apple bobbed as he took a deep breath.

"This has got to stop, Hermione. It has to..." Ron began in a strong voice, giving her shoulders a rough shake as he emphasized each word, but his voice broke and he began to repeat things like a broken record under his breath.

At first, Hermione tried to hear what he was saying, but soon gave up when she realized he has started mumbling to himself. She flinched as the iron grip on her shoulders gradually became tighter and tighter the longer they stayed there.

"Harry-" Ron began again but swallowed with great difficulty as soon as the first word came out.

"Ron, you are hurting me-" She looked away, anywhere but him.

"THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!" He suddenly roared at her as he pressed her shoulders more firmly against the wall, causing her to look toward him with a gasp.

Pungent odor rushed toward her face, Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"Ron, how many days haven't you cleaned yourself?"

Ron looked like he came out of a nightmare. His face was void of colour and his flaming hair has dulled to a brownish red, it hung in greasy streaks across his forehead. Even Snape's hair looked clean in comparison, which was saying something.

"Harry is dead, 'mione!" Hermione's eyes widened, she shoved him away from her angrily.

"What are you talking about? Harry is in his dorm-"

"HARRY IS DEAD! HE IS GONE! GONE!" Ron screamed at her hysterically, his voice hoarse.

Hermione stood there, stunned, her jaw quivering.

Ron turned away abruptly. A vein prominent on his temple as he clenched his jaw tightly.

"He's gone..." Hermione echoed softly. Ron's shoulder shook and he furiously wiped at his face.

Hermione simply stared, unsure of what to do with the vulnerable boy before her. She wanted to comfort him, but she felt too broken herself to do anything.

"Blast it all." After a while, Ron's quiet voice came out thickly. He walked away, shoulders slumped like a lost and dejected man.

Shakily, Hermione used the wall as support as she slid down to curl into a small ball. A sob escaped her and hot tears soon followed.

**Author's Note**: More of a filler chapter. As usual, the next chapter would be up in 2-3 days! :)


	4. Burial

**Burial**

It had been a week since Harry Potter had died, and today was the day of Harry's burial.

The sky was covered by dense clouds, a grey atmosphere surrounded Hogwarts as gusts of wind howled outside. Occasionally, there was a warning cry from one of the black creatures that perched in the trees.

Hogwarts students stood with their heads bowed in the courtyard as a coffin draped in a flag of the Four Founders was carried pass them.

The wind was so strong it caused several smaller students to stagger, but they returned to their mourning position as soon as possible. A death like silence smothered the open space like a blanket.

Dumbledore and the staffs followed behind the coffin. Each one of them look deeply pained by what was lost, even Snape's face, which was normally composed and blank, was filled with remorse and sorrow.

Rita Skeeter had been repeatedly requesting to come record this historical moment, but she was blocked just as many times. It was not until after Dumbledore had vehemently denied the overzealous reporter for the final time - his eyes lit by an all devouring fire - did she give up and scurry away from the Headmaster's office.

It has begun to rain, but no one stirred to shield themselves. It's as if the sky was grieving for the death of the Boy-Who-Lived.

Just as the coffin was lowered into the pre-dug earth, there was a faint noise inside as the coffin touched the ground.

At first nobody has suspected anything.

The noise soon grew loud and violent, as if someone was banging against the wooden board desperately.

McGonagall gasped, she clutched at Dumbledore's arm, who half supported the teetering woman.

Cautiously, Severus Snape approached the coffin. Dumbeldore raised his arm as if to stop the Potions Professor, his mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Snape looked at the Headmaster, his dark eyes unfathomable. Dumbledore glanced at the students out of the corner of his eyes.

They have perked up, a feverishly hopeful light in their eyes. The Headmaster lowered his arm in resignation and motioned for Snape to continue.

With a violent motion from the Potions Professor's wand, the coffin burst open like a piñata. Every one held their breath as they observed for movement, any indication that their assumption had been wrong.

A groan was heard from inside, now the other staffs, including Dumbledore himself approached the coffin tentatively.

"Ouch..." Shock emanated from the gathered crowd as a boy sat up.

He rubbed the back of his head, then his green eyes scanned the crowd in confusion.

"What's going on?"

There was a brief silence before a chocked noise came from somewhere in the crowd, and then someone shouted, "Harry Potter is alive!"

Another moment of stunned silence passed as people adjusted themselves to this new reality, then an uproar of cheers rose. It climbed and climbed in volume until the courtyard was literally boiling with overwhelming emotions as people cried tears of joy and hugged each other.

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**Author's Note**: Thank you for reading this! I had Dumbledore wait for a week before they could bury Harry because as I tried to show in the previous chapters, it's not easy to accept the death of your hero. Arrangements had to be done, people have to learn and accept the truth. But how could Harry survive in the coffin for a week you ask? I could only say that it's a mystery created by magic. Now that our main player is back, I suppose we can have more action. Perhaps Harry's survival would be better explained if I have him mysteriously return to the Great Hall one night during dinner, but like Voldemort, I suppose I have a thing for dramatic entrance, and I'd rather move on with the actions and not deal with the suspicion that our Harry is a poly-juiced fake. :P


	5. The Boy's Return

**The Boy's Return**

Albus Dumbledore stood rooted to ground. He blinked in disbelief, but there he was, Harry.

The boy rubbed his eyes blurrily. They were emerald, Albus noted, not crimson like Tom's.

The students were clambering over each other to get to the Boy-Who-Live who...well...survived again. The other two of the Golden trio were the closest to Harry Potter.

They were both hugging the boy and telling him how much he missed in the past week. Harry wound his arms around them awkwardly, smiling and nodding, there was an uncertainty to his face as if he didn't quite know how to respond to his two enthusiastic friends.

Minerva covered her mouth, her body shook as tears of joy came rolling down on her weathered face.

Dumbledore did not object when the staffs suggested that they have a grand feast before the end of the year to celebrate the return of Boy-Who-Lived.

Return... Dumbledore frowned, he thought he had put in enough resolve when he casted the Killing Curse... but apparently not. He really hoped the reason Harry lived was due to his error in judgement.

Dumbledore looked at the boy again to find his green eyes locked with his own, eyes that were vibrant with innocence.

Dumbledore wanted to believe he had failed to kill Harry, but Tom had looked at him with the same innocent eyes when the Chamber of Secrets was opened.

The old Headmaster decided that he would have to watch Harry for a while just to confirm that it's the Boy-Who-Lived who has returned to them, he shudder to think of the consequences of the other possibility; but for now, it would be celebration time. It's not every day a miraculous event like this happen, his eyes swept pass the cheering crowd that had gathered around Harry Potter once more.

Beside him, Severus looked pleased. The man fought to quench the smile that was raising the corner of his mouth, but failed as his stoic mask dissolved for a brief moment before he managed to compose himself again.

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**Author's note**: The wonderful thing about the Killing Curse is that you have to mean it for it to work, which is why Dumbledore didn't succeed...?


	6. The Feast

Just thought to let you know that my fanfiction writing as gone underground. My parents banned it. Q_Q I apologize in advance if I update slower than usual in the future, but considering how I do not plan for the chapters in this story to be very long, the updates shouldn't be too affected.

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**The Feast**

_Harry_ smirked at his success. The first stage of the plan was complete, from there on he would wear the disguise of the Boy-Who-Lived and use it against the old fool.

He had pretended to be friendly with... what were they called?

Voldemort rubbed his temple. He had gathered the mudblood was called Hermione while the youngest Weasely boy was named Ronald, but Ronald had looked surprised when he called him by that name. He was thankful when the mudblood told "Ron" (as she had called him) to stop shaking Harry when the youngest Weasely wailed about him addressing his best mate in such formal manner.

Voldemort shuddered in disgust, the two prats literally jumped his bone when he rose from Harry Potter's coffin. So delirious in their celebration of their friend coming back, they never noticed how he tried to shrug them off.

An elf passed a slip of paper to him. Voldemort's bored eyes scanned the short note quickly, it was a note from Dumbledore requesting to see him in his office later.

He looked over to the sender of the note. Dumbledore raised his cup to _Harry_. Voldemort had to hold back a grimace, he plastered a polite smile on his face, it was hard enough not to blast the old fool at first sight.

When food appeared on the table, Voldemort's eyes bulged, he didn't think the food Hogwarts offered back when he was a student could get any worse, apparently he was mistaken.

Voldemort eyed a greasy sausage in distaste, but shoved it in his mouth anyways. He would prefer to avoid talking to the little prats unless it became necessary, and he did have a good reason to eat, after all, he had been asleep for a long time and he needed to replenish his energy if he wanted to carry out the next part of the plan efficiently.

"Merlin, you eat like that cousin of yours, Harry!" The red head gaped at him, Voldemort paused for a second, considering blasting Harry's friend with the Killing Curse, but soon decided to not draw attention, he resumed eating without a word.

After dinner, oddly shaped chocolate sprang up in the bowl, Voldemort grabbed one casually and stuffed it in his mouth. Across from him, the mudblood gasped, Voldemort narrowed his eyes, Gryffindor prats, getting surprised over nothing.

"Ha-Harry, That is..." She begun, concerned, Voldemort raised an eyebrow, but his eyes widened the next second.

Crunch! A gluey substance filled his mouth.

"Clustered cockroaches..." The mudblood finished somewhat awkwardly, Voldemort felt his stomach turning at the thought.

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Author: Get hugs! Not Horcruxes! *accidently makes the word size 122 instead of 12 to emphasize a point*

Voldemort: *spits out the cockroach* Avada Kedevra. *author dies* That's better.


	7. Ominous

**Author's Note**: Thank you all for your continued support of this little fic. Even though my MCAT is coming up, I'll still try to update as much as possible! :) Many thanks to you for reading!

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**Ominous**

Draco sauntered toward the boy's washroom leisurely with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

A half smirk twisted the Slytherin's lips, it would be fun to mock the scarhead after the idiot had ran out of Great Hall covering his mouth like some hunted rat.

Not that Draco has missed the pathetic Boy-Who-Lived or anything, but picking on Potter was much more interesting than those cowering Hufflepuffs; he had been bored out of his mind ever since Potter was gone.

He stood at the entrance of the boy's washroom, watching in amusement as Potter gagged into the sink.

"Well, well, well." Potter straightened up, his hand rubbed at his lips and his face was barely visible under the shadow of his tousled hair. He didn't move from his spot.

"Where's your friend, Potter?" Draco sneered.

Behind him, Grabbe and Goyle let out a few barks of nasty laughter, but they soon became silent and instead, there were sound of bodies hitting the floor.

Draco tensed, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, but he was too scared to look behind him.

Light glinted off the wand in Potter's hand. Draco swallowed, he didn't even see Potter taking his wand out.

The other smiled at him coldly. It was a strange expression to be on the Gryffindor's face and it made Draco flinch. He stood there, stunned, the rest of his taunt forgotten.

"Now that we have the garbage taken care of... " Potter's voice trailed off lazily. Draco's breath hitched in his throat, he didn't dare to look away from the wooden stick in Potter's hand.

There was no other students around. The distinct sound of Potter's shoes tapping against the floor as the other boy walked up to Draco echoed loudly in the large space.

There was an unusual gracefulness to Potter's movement, almost aristocratic. It was as if Potter was floating in the air as he approached Draco.

Draco had to resist the urge to run away. He swallowed with difficulty. He didn't want to give Potter something to laugh about in case this turns out to be a joke.

"Draco, isn't it?" Potter smirked, his eyes flickered red for a moment.

Draco blinked furiously, that must had been his imagination.

"I need your assistance, my servant." Potter drawled.

Draco looked into the red eyes in front of him, the dread in the pit of his stomach suddenly grew ominously, threatening to swallow him whole.


	8. A Servant's Place

**author's note:** I feel the need to proclaim that I don't hate the Malfoys in any way. In fact, I kind of like them, even though they are not the friendliest people on the planet, I found their characterization interesting.

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**A Servant's Place**

Lucius did not expect things to turn out like this.

Harry Potter had appeared just before dinner, his eyes filled with malicious intent.

Lucius gasped when he noticed the shock of blond hair peeking from the limp lump held by the Boy-Who-Lived.

Contempt was deep in the boy's jaded eyes as he casually tossed a wounded and unconscious Draco at the doorsteps of Malfoy Manor.

Lucius rushed to his son, checking for injuries.

"Draco, Draco!" Lucius shook his child gently.

Draco opened his eyes. Initially his son looked terrified to be touched, but when Draco realized who it was that was holding him, he became desperate to say something. A tremble shot through him and he spat out a mouth full of blood, crimson stained both his and Lucius' robe. His son gripped his shoulder, grey eyes pleading.

"Draco, speak to me!" Lucius coaxed urgently. Horror filled him when his son opened his mouth to reveal a bloody mass of flesh. The stub that used to be a tongue squirmed helplessly in the air.

Draco squeezed his eyes shut in pain as he struggled to make a sound. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as he became more and more desperate to try to convey his message to Lucius. Tears fell down his cheeks and he gasped for air.

Lucius spelled Draco into a deep sleep to dull his pain, he lowered his son gently to the ground, then he stood up to face Potter, who stood there smirking mirthfully as he watched the show before him.

Lucius narrowed his eyes. Hand reached for his wand, the Killing Curse ready on his breath as he gripped the smooth handle.

"Lucius," Lucius paused, his eyes glared side way in annoyance.

Bellatrix stood at the door, her dark eyes searched Potter's face with uncertainty before they widened. The woman wheeled toward Potter and kneeled, her breath was shaky and excited.

Lucius was stunned, has she gone mad? Why hasn't she cursed the Boy-Who-Lived yet?

"Oh, Bella," the young boy caressed her cheek softly, the woman closed her eyes, and purred softly at his touch.

Lucius fell onto his knees like he had suddenly lost support, Bellarix's reaction, Draco's wound, it all made sense now. Lucius crawled toward the Dark Lord on all fours, he kissed the hem of Harry's rob shakily before he begged his Lord, repeatedly, to return Draco's tongue, his voice grew more and more frantic until his plea ended in a choked sob.

"Lucius," the Dark Lord reached down to hoist the blond aristocrat up gently, Lucius looked up at the young face fearfully.

"It seems that you too, need some reminder of who I am," there was an infinite amount of regret in the soft voice that floated above his head.

Before Lucius could utter another syllable, a red jet of light shot toward him, and he was pierced by a pain so intense that it could scarcely be described by words.


	9. The Dark Lord's Return

**The Dark Lord's Return**

Voldemort terminated the Cruciatus curse when Lucius stopped twitching on the ground.

The elder Malfoy had fallen unconscious, just like his useless son.

With another slash of his wand, his old body came flying toward him. It stopped and hovered above the ground a few meters away from him. Bella watched the whole process in fascination.

Voldemort narrowed his eyes as he circled the floating body.

Bony and frail, it's the epitome of weakness. It had an ugliness that disqualified him from charming more people into following him, but everything will work out better now. The Boy-Who-Lived would be on his side, helping to attract more followers for Lord Voldemort and destroying the Light side's morale.

With a swished of his wand, the body was instantly lit on fire. Bella hissed and stepped back in shock, but when she rested her dreamy gazed on him, her body relaxed with the approval of her master. She allowed her face to lit up with a maniacal laugh as she enjoyed the firework with the same interest of a child.

Voldemort watched passively as the body turned coal black. Eventually nothing but a smoldering pile of ash was left on the floor. Another wave of wand and every trace of the snake-like body was gone.

"Bella," his female Death Eater turned to him, admiration and adoration shinning in her eyes, "go gather my followers, it's time for my Death Eaters to celebrate."

That night, Voldemort retired to his chamber early, his Death Eaters had drunk themselves until they lounged around on the floor in a smelly mess, wasted.

Voldemort looked at himself in the mirror. He had used up too much energy. It was still too early for him to settle comfortably in the boy's body. He had turned his eyes red and tortured several Death Eaters in his way so he wouldn't have to waste the effort of convincing them with words.

Voldemort sneered, his followers were so pathetic they had failed to recognize their own Lord. Perhaps he should consider testing the intelligence of his followers before letting them join his ranks in the new world he would soon create.

The Dark Lord had to stop in the middle of his musing when he felt Harry stirring in some distant part of his consciousness. He frowned in irritation.

Voldemort had felt the boy early on when he had planned to go to the old fool and murder him under the guise of Harry Potter, but the boy seemed to have the strongest response when it comes to anything having to do with the old fool.

Voldemort knew he shouldn't allow Harry to resurface. But now that Harry is in the Malfoy Manor, his body would be safe. It wouldn't take long before his reign began again.

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**Author's Note**: Thank you for reading! This one is a bit of a filler chapter, but the next one will be up soon! :)


	10. Lucius

**Lucius**

Harry groaned when he woke up. He never remembered the bed in the dormitory to be this soft. He also had a pounding headache, yet he couldn't quite remember what happened last night... did he get a hangover?

He reached for his glasses without thinking, and started panicking when he found none.

After the initial haziness of sleep cleared, Harry had to touch his eyes in disbelief.

He could see everything just fine, and no, there were no glasses on his face!

But what he saw before him confused him. Harry rubbed his eyes at the unfamiliar setting. He found himself to be located in a grand, luxurious room decorated in black and white. The vast space of the room almost made him a little queasy.

Harry shifted his weight. The bed was huge, his body sunk deeply into the soft mattress, feather like blanket covered him.

He jumped off the bed, anxious to find out where he is and how did he get here. He tripped over a thick rope and stumbled onto the carpet with a yelp.

There was a loud hiss behind him. Harry turned to looked at the "rope", but was startled by the sight. At where he thought the rope was, a green snake the size of his body curled in on itself.

Harry stared into the golden eyes, bile rose in his throat as he watched the snake that attacked Authur in his dream bare its fangs at him.

"Watch it." The snake hissed at him, but didn't do anything else. It just stared at Harry like it was considering something, and Harry was starting to feel uneasy.

"Who are you?" Harry tried to hiss in Parseltongue. If he thought the snake sounded harsh with its hiss, his own voice came out more venomous than he had intended as well.

"My name isss Naginisss." Harry didn't think it was possible for a snake to glower at someone, but the one in front of him just did.

Part of Harry wondered why was he hissing a snake instead of finding out his own location; though the snake did seem to cater to him grudgingly... perhaps it would be easier to get Nagini to talk.

"Where am I, Nagini?"

"You are in Malfoy Manorssss." Harry's heart jolted.

Malfoy Manor? Harry was quite sure the Malfoys hated him, so why were they treating him like a guest? Could this be some new way to torture him? Though Harry couldn't fathom how do they plan to hurt him by letting him stay in such a grand room. Perhaps he should just feel glad that he didn't wake up to see Draco or Lucius Malfoy standing by his bed, ready to curse his head off.

"What happened?" The snake just ignored his question and slithered away.

Harry sat on the carpet, his head was pounding from the new information. After a furious but fruitless searched through his brain for the reason behind his current predicament, Harry still couldn't find any useful clues; that, and his brain still felt like a mess.

A knock at the door made Harry jump out of his reverie. He hastily got up to open it.

Lucius fell onto his knees before him. The haughty aristocrat has never looked so disgraceful before. His blond hair was tangled, and streaks of grey was showing, trails of tears cut through the dirt covering his face. His robe was wrinkled and dust patches stood out from his dark robe.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Harry stepped back, feeling unsure of how to react to his host.

"H...Harry?" Lucius Malfoy's head snapped up, there was a certain hope in his face as he inquired hesitantly.

"Yes, wh-why am here?" Malfoy began to get up, but he nearly fell.

Harry managed to steady him in time. The older man's eyes widened in fear at the contact; he nearly fell backward in his struggle to get away from Harry.

Harry could not understand the man's reaction, but he shoved his question aside when Malfoy Senior looked around the hallway quickly before entering and closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicked close, the aristocrat relaxed a bit. He spun around and gripped Harry tightly on the shoulders.

"I-Is it really you? Harry Potter?" Harry yelped as fingers dug into his shoulders and shook him.

Malfoy senior retracted his hands and jumped back in fright at Harry's reaction.

"I'm so sorry, H-Harry," the aristocrat spluttered, "here, let me see if I hurt you anywhere." Hands reached toward him, but they stopped midair as Harry stepped back, uncertain and frightened of the odd occurrence.

The last time he remembered he was in... Harry winced as a sharp pain shot through his head. He groaned and rubbed his temple.

The older Malfoy stepped forward again, concern and caution shinning in his grey eyes.

Harry raised his hand to stop the other. He took a few deep breath to calm the stabbing pain in his head.

"Please, Mr. Malfoy, tell me what's going on." Harry managed to wheeze out through the pain, but held his head high before his enemy nonetheless.

Green eyes met grey ones. The older man nodded, and then he began to explain.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading and reviewing! :) An IQ test by Voldemort could be awkward, the kind of things he would test... *shudder* And Dumbledore and Harry... I'm leaving blanks to so you guys could fill in the juicy details. :P


	11. An Unlikely Ally

**An Unlikely Ally**

Harry was flabbergasted, no, horrified at what "he" had done.

Though he has always despised the Slytherin, no one deserved the way _he _had treated Draco; and worse still, what did _he_ do while he was IN Hogwarts? While he was sure Voldemort wouldn't triumph against Dumbledore, Harry shuddered at the thought of letting Voldemort meet his two best mates.

Guilt engulfed Harry, he turned away from senior Malfoy.

Harry didn't know how to deal with this. No, he grew up in the muggle world. For eleven years, the cupboard at Dursley's was his home. It was small and cramped but things were familiar; and then he learned that he belonged in another world that's completely different where common sense could not apply... Harry could not fathom what will happen to him. Dumbledore's not around to guide him, even Hermione would have a better idea of what's going on.

After whispering a soft request for Lucius Malfoy to give him some time alone, he fell onto the bed behind him.

His luxurious surrounding disgusted him. Harry wanted to burn it all down, but he had to hold back and remind himself, repeatedly, that everything before him belonged to the Malfoys, not the Dark Lord. From the way he treated Draco and disheveled state of Lucius, they've suffered under Voldemort's tyranny more than enough.

Lucius didn't leave, the aristocrat watched Harry almost stonily as he stood in the room.

Harry ignored his audience, he squeezed his eyes shut and screamed into his head.

_COME OUT! ANSWER ME! VOLDEMORT!_

There was no response, his mind felt as silent as the room. Harry felt silly doing it, but he persisted nonetheless.

After many episodes of shouting at himself, Harry realized from Malfoy Senior's expression that he must have raged at Voldemort out loud.

It was pointless, Voldemort had probably moved back to his own body already, perhaps in a few moments the Dark Lord would charge through the door and end Harry with a killing curse.

He waited, and waited. Harry was almost a little disappointed when no one came.

Lucius continued to stand there silently. The tick of the clock was becoming painfully loud for Harry. Realizing the implications of his situation, Harry grabbed a fistful of his hair and tore at it. At the same time, Lucius swopped down on him to restrain him.

"Let me go! People suffered at my hands! I need to get rid of myself! Right now!" Harry struggled against Malfoy Senior's hold, twisting his body under Malfoy Senior, kicking and throwing punches.

Harry did not know who or what was receiving his punches. He was hurting everywhere, sharp pain drilled into his mind as Harry kept thrashing about violently.

* * *

Lucius grunted in pain as another fist landed on him. He used his own weight to seize Harry, who continued to squirm. It was good that he decided to stay and stop Harry Potter in case the boy wants to kill himself.

After a long while, Harry became more and more subdued until he laid on the bed painting.

The bed was a mess. The sheets wrinkled; one pillow landed on the other side of the room, another cracked open, its feathery content spilt all over the bed.

"Harry?" Concerned, Lucius waved his hands in front of Harry Potter's glassy eyes.

The boy suddenly screamed to the ceiling, "I TOTURED PEOPLE, I'M A MONSTER!" His voice broke at the last word; hot tears rolled down his cheeks as the boy began to sob.

Lucius didn't speak, he regarded Harry with weary eyes. He climbed off the boy hesitantly.

This time, Harry did not move from his position. Instead, the boy rolled over and buried his face into the bed as he continued to cry into the sheets.

Lucius waited beside the bed patiently. After a while, the sobbing quietened down.

Lucius wondered if he should leave to give Harry Potter sometime to digest the information. The boy turned over. He simply laid on the bed, eyes glazed and void. The Boy-Who-Lived had begun to mutter something under his breath. Lucius had to lean toward him just to catch a few words like "killer", "monster", "same as Voldemort".

"Harry, Harry," the boy continued to ignore him, fixated on his mumbling.

"Are you done?" Malfoy Senior said to him calmly. When there was no response, he continued, "then it's my turn."

* * *

A blow landed on Harry's cheek, his mind reeled. His cheek throbbed where it had made impact with Malfoy Senior's fist a second ago, the part of his face that had been scraped by Lucius Malfoy's ring stung terribly, but Harry felt numb inside. He closed his eyes and laid limply on the bed, tears continued to flow down his temple steadily.

Part of him wished that Lucius Malfoy could grant him a swift death so he could at least-

"Get a grip on yourself, kid!" Malfoy Senior growled at him in a low voice, he grasped Harry's collar roughly and hauled him into a sitting position. Harry stared at the man before him blankly.

"Those things have already happened. You can either go kill yourself over something **you** didn't do, or you can compensate and save the future. If the Dark Lord is really inside you," they both shuddered involuntarily at the suggestion, "then make use of his power!"

Harry gawked at the aristocrat uncomprehendingly. Lucius Malfoy sighed, his shoulders slumped in the most defeated manner Harry had ever seen.

The two people, man and boy, stared at each other in silence. After a while, Malfoy Senior shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll help you, whichever choice you make." Without waiting for Harry's response, Lucius walked out the room.

No longer proud and tall, the only thing left for Harry to see was the back of a dejected father who has failed his own son.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well, the opening weekend for the museum I volunteer at is tomorrow. Since it's a long weekend, I might be there every day, so I apologize in advance if I'm not able to update in a timely manner. Anyhow, thanks for reading! :)


	12. Clues

**Clues**

Albus Dumbledore paced the office, there was a light frown on his face and his eyes were devoid of a twinkle.

It's been a week... A week since both Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy have disappeared.

School has already ended, but Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger owled him daily asking for news to Harry's whereabouts.

Dumbledore looked into the pensieve. He could see from his memory of the night Harry disappeared that the boy has ran out of the Great Hall before the feast ended. Draco Malfoy and his friends from Slytherins got up and exited as well after a few seconds. Dumbledore sighed when he found himself in his office again after looking into the memory of that night for the umpteenth time.

Later in the night, Grabbe and Goyle reported that Draco and Harry Potter have disappeared in the washroom. They claim to have stood outside for the entire time and when it became too silent in the washroom, the two boys went in to check, but they only found a small puddle of blood.

The blood was determined to belong to Draco Malfoy. Dumbledore has contacted the Malfoy household but received no reply. McGonagall suggested using veritaserum on the two Slytherin boys due to the importance of the situation but was met with objection from Dumbledore himself. Snape was still searching for new of Lily's boy tirelessly.

Dumbledore walked toward the window. Outside, a flash of lightning cut through the dark sky, soon to be follow by the crack of thunder. There was not enough clues, where could the two boys have possibly gone? Unless... The old Headmaster closed his eyes.

Dumbledore felt like he had failed Sirius Black for not being unable to protect his godson.

There was a knock at his door.

"Enter." Severus Snape walked into his office, "Severus," Dumbledore greeted the Potions Professor half-heartedly.

"Headmaster, I have some news about Harry Potter." Dumbledore's eyes widened. He glanced at the man, who maintained a stoic face.

So far, none of the others had been able to locate Harry, if the Potions master was the only one to find that, then that could mean Harry might be in grave danger.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Since Snape is a spy within Voldemort's Death Eaters, if he's the only one with clues, then... Ok, since I'm in a rush, I'll just repeat what I said for corrupted by Light: It's almost 2AM and I'm supposed to volunteer today, but I've decided to whip up this chappy real quick and I hope it's still ok. I'm terribly sorry if it's not. *shame* Thank you all for reading and for your continued support! You guys are the best part about writing on ! *hug* :)


	13. Torture

**Torture**

Harry's hope had been in vain.

Judging from the Death Eater's reaction and the absence of Voldemort himself, the Dark Lord must be within him.

Though thankfully, everything had been going as planned.

As promised, Lucius helped Harry to continue to fool the Death Eaters into thinking that he was Lord Voldemort.

For the most part, it wasn't hard to keep up the pretension. Harry figured Nagini could probably tell that he wasn't Voldemort, hence her reluctance to be around him, but he wasn't particularly concerned about the snake betraying him since he's the only Parselmouth around, and surely the snake wouldn't want to harm him since her master still reside in him.

The Death Eaters were too fearful to remain in his presence for long. They only reported their activities dutifully and went about their business under his permission.

The only challenge would be Bellatrix Lestrange. The witch practically glued herself to him. She followed him everywhere just to stare at him with admiration, it was gross not to mention disturbing. For more times than Harry could recall, he found himself itching to strangle the witch barehanded for killing Sirius, but Lucius would always stop him just in time.

When others were not around, he often told Harry, rather harshly, to wipe that murderous look off his face.

Harry still remember the one time he had lashed out at the aristocrat, claiming that the Death Eaters deserve to be tortured for what they have done, and the other had replied in a grave voice.

"You are different from Voldemort, Harry."

Harry sat in Voldemort's throne, playing with his holly wand while he contemplated ways to find out more information about Voldemort's horcruxes from his Death Eaters. He had already gotten into contact with Dumbledore and established his situation.

Harry squeezed the bridge of his nose, missing the famaliar feeling of glasses on his face. He could imagine Hermione and Ron wanting to come and save him after the first time he sent the Order a letter, but he couldn't allow that.

Now that he had finally infiltrated Voldemort's Death Eaters, he had to gain more valuable information. Knowledge is power, but all he had succeeded so far was informing the aurors of a few small skirmishes in some distant villages.

Screams could be heard down the hall. Harry closed his eyes.

It happened quite often, the Death Eaters would almost drag in one victim daily to toss them into the dungeon. Then in every few days, a few bodies would be dragged out lest their stench travel to other parts of the Manor.

But instead of fading away like usual, the scream got louder and louder.

Harry opened his eyes irritably. His brows shot up at the sight of Bellatrix Lestrange dragging in a member of the Order.

"My Lord," she bowed. She yanked the collar of the man harshly with one hand; her other hand jabbed at his temple with her wand. The man whimpered once he saw Harry.

Harry nodded at Bellatrix in acknowledgement. He kept his face blank.

"I've brought a member of the Order, do you wish to interrogate him?" With a violent thrust on Bellatrix's part, the man nearly landed on his face in front of Harry.

Harry scrutinized the man, he couldn't seem to recall his name. The man cowered slightly but he soon raised his head proudly.

"Bring him to the dungeon, I will deal with him privately." When Bellatrix didn't move, Harry glared at the witch. He had to calm himself before he could ask:

"Anything else, Bella?" The endearing name made Harry wanted to vomit, but Lucius had warned and insisted that he called the witch "Bella".

"My Lord, you haven't been acting like yourself lately." Harry narrowed his eyes at the accusatory tone.

"And you suggest?" Harry grounded out coolly. His fist tightened where the witch couldn't see.

Bellatrix hesitated, but then she stood straight.

"The Death Eaters have started to question your power my Lord. They said...they..." Harry arched a brow, Bellatrix gave him a bewildered look before she spoke almost timidly, "they said you have been changed by the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Nonsense!" Harry hoped he has faked Voldemort's rage with expertise.

Bellatrix gave a squeal and crouched down. She covered her head like a child and peeked at him from under her arms.

Harry stomped off the throne until he towered over the trembling witch. He had an urge to laugh, this witch, this scum who has killed Sirius, feared him?

"You've only used your yew wand once when you returned and you haven't been using it since." Harry's glowered at Bellatrix. She sat on the floor, a childlike innocence in her eyes. Harry suddenly had an idea.

"Would you like to see it?" He said, deceptively gentle as he took out the yew wand and stroke it.

His eyes quickly scanned the room. Good, Lucius is not here. As for the member from the Order... Harry wouldn't put it past him to make it out alive if he was pathetic enough to be caught in the first place. Even if he did escape, he doubt Dumbledore would trust the man enough to believe his words.

Bellatrix nodded, her eyes becoming dreamy and sheepish instantly.

"Crucio." Harry was startled by the power that engulfed him the moment he held onto the yew wand, and when he spoke the incantation, he watched in amazement as a beam of red shot out from the end like a bullet, directly into Bellatrix's chest.

The woman immediately fell on the ground, her piercing wail raising to higher and higher octaves, until it went past what Harry thought was humanly possible.

Harry could only watch the pale wand in his hand. He... succeeded?

A vicious satisfaction grew inside him as the witch before him continued to thrash about. Harry smirked.

He watched in fascination as his Godfather's murderer twitched, and eventually, stopped moving. Her fingers uncurling from her fists.

There was a choked noise, Harry found the man Bellatrix had brought in staring at him in horror.

Harry began to approach him. All traces of defiance gone, the man crawled backward. Before Harry could raise his wand, a stunning spell hit the man from behind, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell, his body splayed across the ground messily.

Harry snarled at the intruder, only to find Lucius standing at the entrance of the room, his face pale and his wand quivered as he approached Harry warily.

Blood drained from Harry's face. He staggered and fell back onto Voldemort's throne.

Lucius crouched down in front of Bellatrix's unmoving body and put his finger in front of the witch's nose. A second later, he sighed in relief.

There was a mixture of fear concern in the man's grey eyes as he looked up at Harry.

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it, he threw the yew wand across the room as hard as he could.

It clattered against the ground, a loud and hollow sound in the grand, echoing room.

Harry looked at the two limp bodies in the room, then stared down at his hands in horror.

"What have I done, Lucius?" He asked shakily, even though he did not want to hear the answer.

Lucius shook his head, he did not speak.

* * *

**Author's note**: Thank you for reading. A big thank you to Red Furry Demon for helping me. I got Bella's pose from a Youtube video "Voldemort speaks to Nagini in Parseltongue". I can't remember the exact time, but at one point, she was crouching with her head covered in the background.


	14. Order

**Order**

Molly Weasely exited from the Meeting Room with a heavy heart. She passed by the Order's children who have gathered themselves in the hallway, guarded by none other than Remus Lupin.

The group perked up when they saw her, a hopeful light in their eyes.

"Mum..." One of them began. She shook her head and they deflated.

Dumbledore has asked for Harry's friends to be watched at all time, lest the children do something reckless and complicate the situation. They have also been temporarily barred from the Order's meeting for "not being able to calmly take the news regarding the status of the Boy-Who-Lived". But in all honesty, who could?

The number of letters Harry has been able to sneak out have been decreasing. When the first letter came informing them of a skirmish in a nearby town, the Order couldn't determine if it was a trap since the letter was not properly addressed. It was not until the next day when the Prophet reported that the said village had been destroyed overnight did the adults start to take the letter seriously.

As time passed, Dumbledore has been able to determine that the letters came from Harry from little clues present in each letter. Kingsley suggested using Severus Snape as a liaison between Harry and the Order, but Harry has always suspected the Potions Master. The boy refused to let Snape get close to him. It would seem that Harry would act extra malicious and Voldemort-like whenever he sees Snape.

It's also worrisome that as time passes, it would seem Harry became increasingly frantic with each letter. Its length diminished to the point that they could scarcely be called a note, which could only mean things were becoming even less favourable for Harry.

Molly could not bear to let the children know that the Order is really left in the dark of Harry's condition since Snape's access to Harry was close to non-existent, to the point that the man could only assure that the Boy-Who-Lived was still kept alive. On top of that, Molly was very disturbed by the fact that Lucius Malfoy has apparently taken a liking to the boy and the two were always seen together.

Part of her worried if Harry has already been fully possessed by Voldemort to cause him to not mind the company of Lucius Malfoy, but she banished the thought almost immediately. Voldemort wouldn't inform them of Death Eater's plans. Harry must have been pretending everything in order to survive. Who knew what the poor boy must be going through surrounded by Death Eaters all day long. One wrong move and... She could not bear to imagine the consequences.

She caught the eyes of Remus, who was tensed and look like he hasn't gotten a good sleep ever since he was first informed of Harry's disappearance. Tonks walked up from behind and tapped Remus lightly on the shoulder. The two exchanged a quick nod and Remus went to see Dumbledore while Tonk stayed to watch over the children.

Molly gripped her wand tightly. It has been a long time since she felt just like her children, whom she has always called reckless. She wanted to go save Harry at the first chance she got, but Dumbledore has decided to respect Harry's wish, which was to let him remain behind the enemies line in order to find out their weaknesses and future plans.

She could tell many of the Order members wanted to pull the boy out of the mess themselves as much as she wanted to. Even though Harry has survived many situations that could easily claim the life of an experienced wizard, to ask the boy to take on the role of a spy while combating the infamous Dark Lord inside him was just too much; but if Dumbledore insisted that they do nothing, he must have his own reasons.

* * *

**Author's Note**: A little calm before the storm (well, not really, but I guess the calmest you can ever get before I make Harry's life hell again? I feel the need to say I don't hate Harry before the accusations come flying :P). Thank you for reading, and a big thanks to all of those who have reviewed, followed, and/or added the story to favourite! :)


	15. Wormtail

**A/N**: Thank you for your interest in this story! Special thanks to Red Furry Demon for helping! I don't know what else to say beside thanking all of you repeatedly, so let's get to the story shall we? :)

* * *

**Wormtail**

Harry wanted to quit.

It's an exhausting feat to live under pretension every day, not to mention he was seriously doubting that he was doing anything to help the war by lounging around all day in Malfoy Manor.

At first, Harry thought that it was all for the greater good, he would sacrifice himself to deliver information to the outside; but then he began to feel like a failure when he still couldn't find what he came to look for after staying here for so long.

Voldemort had given Lucius his diary, which Harry destroyed in his second year, but other than that, the aristocrat has not heard of the locations of the other horcruxes.

Harry's probing of other Death Eaters did not prove to be any useful either. He has yet to talk to Bellatrix, who has thankfully stopped following him around as much as she did before he cruciated her. Harry certainly did not want her to get any wrong ideas and start clinging to him again by talking to her on his own account, not to mention the thought of being in the same room with the witch disgusted him.

Furthermore, Snape's presence also made Harry uneasy. Out of all the Death Eaters beside Lucius, who he has recently came to trust, Snape probably knew the most about him. He would be the first to notice if Harry's facade slipped. Harry remembered restraining himself from kicking Snape in the face when the man kissed the hem of his robe. Lucius has been aiding him to avoid the traitor lest Harry fail to rein in his anger and lash out one day. Before he learn to conceal his true nature better, Harry didn't want to risk too much contact with Snape.

The Order must be really worried as well. Part of him hoped that they are trying to save him despite what he implied in his anonymous letters. Surely Dumbledore would know that the letter came from him by now...

Harry scoffed at the thought. Nobody could save him, he was all alone, trapped in this luxurious mansion while his heart was more deprived than ever.

It turned out there was a ring of truth to Bellatrix's words. The Death Eaters had indeed questioned his identity.

When the first challenge came from a man with greying hair by the name of Yaxley, Harry had been seized by an unexplainable fury, so he tortured the man, the same curse he had used on Bellatrix Lestran-

Harry slapped his hand across his eyes, he left his hand covering his face.

Harry had told himself numerous times, Yaxley was a Death Eater. He probably deserved to die a thousand times for what he has done to the others.

Yaxley deserved it, Harry repeated to himself again, this time with more force, he was just carrying out justice.

The unrest amongst Death Eaters caused by their perceived weakness of their Lord quenched, there began another cycle of fearful respect.

Harry let out a bitter laugh, more of a cracked croak in the middle of the empty room. Frustration was burning steadily in the back of his mind. He was irritated by the lack of progress in achieving his goals, and annoyed that he's stuck here playing a role way out of his capability.

His temper seemed to have gotten worse as well.

Harry found himself frequently raging at different incidents, like the time when Death Eaters raided a village without his knowledge, even to little things like when dinner was late.

His body wasn't helping either, sometimes it felt numb while other times it twitched on its own, Harry would often found himself slamming down on one of his hand using the other.

He hated it here. It's making him act weird. He must be developing some kind of a nervous breakdown.

Furthermore, Harry had been sleeping a lot more than usual. For some odd reason, he always felt very tired even after he woke up from a long slumber.

At first, he would nap for a few hours, then it turned into most of the day, until yesterday, he hasn't woken up at all.

Harry sat on his throne. He was nodding off again, but a motion somewhere to his right got Harry's attention.

He pointed the yew wand lazily. A light shot out, and Peter Pettigrew appeared on the ground. The coward was still on all fours, his eyes shut and the man, if he deserved to be called one, struggled to run away again.

"Wormtail," Harry began pleasantly, a grin stretched his face.

The man let out a loud screech at the sound of Harry's voice, slowly, he turned to face Harry.

Harry smiled warmly, "What a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"My- my Lord..." Harry rose out of his throne gracefully. He twirled the wand in his hand fondly.

This would be fun.


	16. Trance

**Trance**

Lucius was never a man of regrets, but lately it would seem that he had been regretting a lot of things.

For one, he could not fathom what was he possibly thinking when he stopped the boy from killing himself.

Sure, Harry's body belonged to the Dark Lord, but if his speculations were right; then Harry's own personality was allowed to surface because Lord Voldemort couldn't fully possess the boy, which meant that Lucius has missed the best opportunity to vanquish the Dark Lord due to his own cowardice because he feared retribution.

Cowardice... Lucius could not stop his fists from tightening.

Perhaps courage was not what he needed, foolishness would be the better word.

There had been a time when he foolishly fought alongside of the Dark Lord himself in pursuit of power. Lucius had been amazed at the progress. Not that he would have helped Lord Voldemort if he didn't expect anything in return, but power, influence, wealth... they all had came so easily under the Dark Lord... as easily as they were gone once his Lord returned and found out that his horcrux had been destroyed by Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.

Unlike before, Lord Voldemort now stood in the way of his ambition. The burning desire to be great was still there since youth, but Lucius couldn't quite summon the will to defy the Dark Lord foolishly like Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.

Initially, Lucius contemplated the idea of simply taking his family and going into hiding, but where could he go? There's not a place in the Wizarding World that the Dark Lord did not have eyes in.

After Draco lost his tongue, Lucius began seriously pondering the possibility of losing his heir. If Lord Voldemort insist on punishing his inability to protect the horcrux through torturing Draco, then he's left with no choice but to helped Harry Potter.

While the realization left him less conflicted about his position in the war, Lucius was plagued by the constant worry that Lord Voldemort would return to kill him and his family for his betrayal, and the boy was certainly not making him any more confident of his decision to change side with his odd behaviour.

While Harry still favored light magic, he did not seem to object to dark magic as much as he used to; in fact, there was some semblance of pleasure on his face when he tortured the Death Eaters for their "insolence".

On top of that, Harry's eyes also change colors often. Lucius could recall that the first time he had seen Harry with red eyes, he fell to his knees; his heart pounding with the fear that the Dark Lord had completely possessed the boy.

But Harry laughed at him, saying that it was a disguise he was toying with, something was off about the boy's demeanor, but it was still completely different from the way the Dark Lord would act... Lucius couldn't quite put his fingers around it, and he also couldn't shake off the unpleasant feeling he was getting from seeing Harry.

After all, the real Lord Voldemort in Harry's body did turn the boy's eyes red when he first came to Malfoy Manor.

Yesterday, Harry told him to bring in Peter Pettigrew. When Lucius asked for the reason behind the request, the boy simply told him, innocently, that he wanted to know something about his parents.

He had promised Lucius not to harm the man in any way or form.

Lucius frowned as he continued to search for Peter Pettigrew, the man had turned into his Animagus form and scattered off once Lucius told him he's taking him to see Harry Potter.

He was just about to talk to Harry when he froze at the entrance of where Harry usually was.

His eyes widened when he saw Harry point Voldemort's wand at Peter Pettigrew, everything went slowly then.

Lucius watched with dread as green light shot out of the wand and encased Peter Pettigrew, then the man was still.

Lucius shook out of his daze. He rushed toward the boy, whose eyes were still downcast on the corpse before him.

When Harry raised his head, Lucius was shocked to find a satisfied smirk marked the boy's face.

"Harry!" Grey eyes met red, Lucius stopped in his track when Harry sneered at him.

"What do you want?" He replied snappishly as he walked to sit on Voldemort's throne again.

"You promised to not hurt him!" Lucius could almost feel himself pleading. Please let him be wrong about what he believe was happening to Harry.

"I do not remember such a promise," the other replied coldly, "plus," a smirk lit up Harry's face, "he doesn't seem hurt, he could be sleeping for all I care."

Lucius stared at the Boy-Who-Lived in horror. For Harry to be able to cast the Killing Curse to effect...

"You changed Harry, I was wrong to stop you before." Harry looked down at him from Voldemort's throne impatiently, his eyes shifting between red and green.

Lucius reached back for his wand discreetly. Guilt was swallowing him whole as he muttered silently, "I'm sorry, Avada Keda-"

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry cut him off with a faster incantation.

Green light shot toward Lucius, then everything went black.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry, after spending a day in the rain performing outdoor, I'm feeling a little exhausted. I hope this chapter is still ok. Thank you for reading! :)


	17. End of the Dream

**End of the Dream**

Harry gasped in horror. His hand trembled, and he shook his head as his eyes took in the sight before him.

There was not a living thing in the room. He had been in a daze for a few seconds, what happened?

"Bellatrix! " Harry yelled at the top of his lungs.

Anger engulfed him as he thought of how to punish the witch for murdering his followers without his consent. He kept yelling and yelling until a Death Eater appeared at the door and kneeled.

"My Lord, Bellatrix Lestrange is on a mission, she can't c-"

"Avada Kedavra!" The words slipped out of his lips before he could help it.

Harry looked down at the ghostly yew wand in his hand, shocked by how naturally his fingers wielded around its wooden body, so familiar that he had thought that the wand belonged to him for a moment... He jumped when he heard the soft thump of body dropping on the ground. The wand slipped out of his clammy hand and clattered to the floor.

The Death Eater was not moving.

Harry shifted forward with uncertainty, hoping that the spell had not worked. (He didn't mean to kill the Death Eaters, did he?) His feet were shaky and he could barely support himself. He managed to stumble forward a few steps before abruptly dropping to his knees.

Before him, five lifeless bodies scattered about the room. His eyes slowly trailed over the bodies, his body shook with revulsion as he observed the faces of the deceased.

Wormtail's face was still mangled with horror. The three Malfoys were huddled a few meters away. Lucius had a mixture of regret and fear on his face, Narcissa laid beside him, her cheeks still wet with tears and Draco... his former classmate's face can't be seen, he had fallen across his parents face down, but his hand still gripped his wand tightly, knuckles still white.

Despite the heaviness in his chest, Harry half crawled forward on his arms. Urgently, he placed his fingers in front of the Death Eater's nose to test for signs of life.

One second... five seconds... ten seconds...

Dread was sinking into his stomach when Harry couldn't feel the passage of air. He retracted his fingers and placed his ear on the other's chest, hoping desperately, even if he had to delude himself, to hear the strong thumping of a heart inside.

Nothing.

He couldn't hear anything save for his own frantic breathing.

Still hopeful, Harry spun around to check the others, but shuddered every time his hand made contact with a cold body.

He did not want to admit it, the thought he had refused to entertain for so long had finally hit him and ran him over like a train.

He had kept it hidden, he didn't want to acknowledge its existence, but the truth had been right there, like a persistent ghost, following him every step of the way. Now he finally had no choice but to look it in the yes.

He was nothing but the Dark Lord's vessel.

All those times he had prided himself for being able to act like the Dark Lord while maintaining his own sanity (or did he?), all those times he thought he'd achieved something when he heard a Death Eaters' raid at some remote village had been thwarted... It had only been something to keep him occupied.

Harry couldn't believe how had he not see it coming, even when he had tortured people, even when he began to rule Death Eaters with the same kind of tyranny he had seen Voldemort act in the graveyard, even when his foul temper got him at uncharacteristic times, even when he lost control of his body, even when Lucius... A tremor ran through his body.

For so long now, he had been denying the truth from himself because he was too cowardly to face that he'd become anything like Voldemort. Where had that Gryffindor side of him gone?

"Accio wand!" Voldemort's wand came flying toward him.

It was mocking that Voldemort's wand obeyed him as his own. Harry pointed the yew wand at his neck and closed his eyes. The wooden tip probed at his Adam's Apple painfully.

"Avada Kedavra." He held his breath, waiting for the spell to blast him into oblivion.

Nothing happened, but he kept his eyes closed and waited stubbornly.

After a long while, he opened his eyes slowly, almost fearfully.

The grand room he had resided in for the past while was still there before him, Harry's shoulders sagged in defeat.

He suppose it was worth a try, Harry dragged himself up and contemplated muggle ways of killing himself. Death appears to be the best option he could hope for now.

Since he's in control, it is likely that the Dark Lord is dormant, which means he could take Voldemort down with him... Even if he hasn't managed to hunt down other horcruxes, killing himself would at least make things harder for Voldemort, and the Dark Lord also wouldn't be able to use his face to fool anyone, the rest can be taken care of by Dumbledore... Harry bit his lower lip as he remembered his old mentor. He missed Hogwarts terribly.

For his entire life, Harry had never felt so defeated and so out of control. With Lucius gone, he wasn't sure if there's anyone he could trust in the large manor... A bitter smile twisted the corner of Harry's mouth, how fate must have enjoyed toying with him. It wasn't long ago when Harry still thought of the senior Malfoy as his worst enemy only next to Voldemort himself...

Harry paused in his thought, his eyes widening as he suddenly remembered there's something he could do before he take his own life.

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**A/N**: Sorry for the late update, I had some uninvited guests and then I got entranced by knitting, yes, knitting, I know, never thought it would happen. Funny how I automatically thought of the word entranced when my last chapter is named Trance... and I no longer have to think as I knit. O_o I just got taken over by the knitting ghost! *mumble muble*

Thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy! :)


	18. Too Late

**Too Late**

Harry willed his legs to carry him away faster. He has been running for at least fifteen minutes and he could not find the dungeon to this maze-like structure.

Just as he was about to turn a corner, he hid behind a wall and looked down the hallway. Once he's confident it's clear, he continued his search, careful to not make too much noise with each step.

He could not fathom the exact reason behind his urgent need to try to save as many people from the dungeon as he could... if any were still alive. It all seem rather pointless since his main focus should be to destroy himself and the Dark Lord within him. Now that he could not be certain when would Voldemort take control, each second he's alive becomes a menace to the Order. And even if he did manage to make it to the dungeon, Voldemort could still take over and the prisoners would be dead for sure ... Harry shook his head.

No, he had to at least try. These are lives that could make a difference in the war. Even if they couldn't, they are still lives nonetheless. He had been a coward before to not do anything about it. Harry had resisted the urge to follow the screams and find the location of the dungeon when Death Eaters dragged victims in fearing that he wouldn't be able to control himself and get caught saving the prisoners, thus breaking his disguise before he could deliver any useful information to the Order...

But now, it's like a fog that has hovered over him suddenly got blown out of his mind. He had been lying to himself for so long about the amount of influence the Dark Lord had over him.

Since when had he been so concerned about his own safety that he placed self-preservation before what he thought was right? He's a bloody Gryffindor for Merlin's sake! What had he been thinking?

Harry rubbed his temple, he felt like he could not even trust himself.

"Incancerous!" Before the word could register in his mind, ropes flew at him like a cobra. Harry let as a surprised yelp as it tightened around his body. He managed to stumbled forward a few steps before falling painfully on his face.

Panic arose in his heart as Harry wiggled his body, but the rope only got tighter and it burned whenever the coarse fiber rubbed against his skin. A string of shrill laughter came from behind him.

"What's wrong? Is little Potty-poo feeling unwell?" Bellatrix cooed as she pouted her face in a childlike manner.

"Let me go, Bellatrix, or I will ensure that you suffer the worst torture there is." Harry snarled viciously.

The witch threw back her head and laughed. She crouched down and looked like she was going to smack him. Harry winced automatically, but her hand landed on her head rather gently and she messed with his hair playfully.

"How do you plan to do that, _Harry_?" Bellatrix sang happily, her heavy lidded eyes lit up with an almost maniacal amusement.

Harry's eyes widened at the name.

"Who do you think you are talking to?" The wrath was there, so was the venom in his tone that forewarned his deadliness.

Bellatrix shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk, my Lord never calls me 'Bellatrix'," interest peaked in her dark eyes, "so what are you up to, _Harry_?" The way she pronounced his name made Harry sick with revulsion.

"None of your business." Harry turned his head defiantly.

"Oh, but it is, you see, my Lord entrusted me with taking care of his body when it's being..." her eyes rolled up as she paused, trying to think of a word, "unreasonable!" She finished with a happy clap. Harry gaped in horror, he didn't ever remember telling the witch anything like that, which could only mean...

"Time for little Harry to nap." He looked up and saw the witch had stood up, her wand pointed at his face.

**A/N**: So many uninvited guests lately... *about to enter depression but gets slapped by a flying pancake* Ok... seems like I've killed plenty of people in the last chapter, don't know why I did that... Anyhow, thanks for reading! :)


	19. Drowning

**Drowning**

Harry groaned as he sat up on the bed. He rubbed the back of his head absently. The warmth of the bed urged him to go back to sleep.

It took a while for Harry to remember the events that had taken place. His eyes widened as panic filled them. He jumped off the bed, and looked around for his wands, but neither of them were there.

"Accio wand!" Harry waited, but nothing came.

Bellatrix Lestange probably took both of them from him when he was out. Harry's fist tightened, then he suppose he'll just have to escape without his wands.

He ran to the door. It didn't surprise him to find it locked.

Harry focused his attention. He felt the magic inside him stir as he casted the Unlocking Charm wandlessly. Then, his hand strike out to yank on the handle, he rattled it a few times, but the door wouldn't budge.

_So it was charmed,_ Harry took a deep breath to calm himself, _but he has more tricks up his sleeves._

Just as he was about to try the window, there was a soft ruffling noise somewhere behind him. Harry whirled around and saw a twelve feet long snake that's as thick as a man's thigh.

"Nagini." He whispered. Dread sinking into his stomach as his eyes reassessed the size of the animal.

The snake slithered closer to him. Harry had not seen Nagini for a while, after their first encounter, Harry has never seen more than the tip of its tail rapidly disappearing around a corner.

Nagini looked into his eyes, her own cold golden ones boring into his green ones, then abruptly, she turned away.

"Wait." The snake stopped, she eyed him disapprovingly.

Harry didn't know why he called out to the snake, he might as well be asking help from Bellatrix herself considering how loyal Nagini was to Voldemort.

"What do you want, boy?" When Harry didn't speak, the snake hissed impatiently.

"Has h-" Harry stopped himself, dreading the answer, but he had to know, "Has he, I mean Voldemort, ever taken over my body?"

"Sssssilly boy, thissss body never belonged to you ever ssince you arrived, enjoy your lasssst moment as the master'ssss mercy." The snake made a sound similar to laughing, then it became a painful hiss, and much closer to Harry.

Harry looked down and gaped, his fingers had sunk into the soft underbelly of the snake, the snake turned and twitched in pain. Suddenly aware of his action, he pulled his hand back as if a lightning struck him. Small crescent blood welts lined where his fingers were.

Harry looked down at his hand, stunned. He had only blanked out for a moment...

"Episkey." The wounds began to close on Nagini's belly from the wandless spell, the snake's yellow eyes bore into his.

"Leave." Harry whispered, suddenly feeling drained.

Nagini obeyed without a word. A magical hole opened for her in the wall, once the tip of her tail disappeared, the hole closed in front of his eyes.

Harry looked around the room. His eyes fell onto a tray of food placed on the armchair across from him. Feel extremely frustrated by his current situation, he stomped over, took the tray, and thrust it at the wall.

It made a loud bang, the food left an ugly smudge against the pale wall as it slide down; but as soon as everything landed, the tray along with its content disappeared, the smudge faded away and a new tray appeared on the armchair. Not a hint of his previous action was left.

Harry stared at his meal.

Would he be erased? Just like what he did? Harry felt his nails digging into his palm.

This must not go on... Even if he was to escape, whether he could trust himself around the others would also be a problem.

What if Voldemort took over when he was at the Order? Would the others be able to get rid of him when he becomes a menace to their safety? Or would they stop because Voldemort would be wearing his face?

Harry closed his eyes. He could not bear to think about it anymore. When he opened them again, there was a new set determination.

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**A/N**: Sorry about the late chapter, lovelies. I don't even have a proper excuse this time *gets smacked*. All I can say is... life. I'll try to get back to updating fast again. Thank you all for reading and thanks for the reviews! :)


	20. One Last Time

**One Last Time**

Harry collapsed onto the bed after he exhausted all the ways he could think of to end himself.

He had looked for something sharp, but found none. It would seem that Bellatrix was quite determined to keep his body unharmed for Voldemort.

He tried to run head first into the wall, hoping to smash his brain out, only to run into some invisible barrier every time, a curious one that slowed him to a stop before he could even reach the wall.

He tried to bite his tongue (even though he only heard of the method somewhere before and was not sure if it would even work or leave him more miserable), but air seem to thicken around his jaw every time he tried to snap it shut. Yet, as he laid there, he could easily graze his tongue with his teeth, but he just couldn't gather enough strength to actually crush the soft flesh.

Now that he's trapped, there's literally nothing he could do.

Harry let his hand curl into a fist and struck the bed in a bout of anger. He couldn't even remove himself as a threat to the safety of his loved ones.

Harry could feel his heart pounding in his ears as his brain tried to come up with more ways to end his miserable existence, but no matter how much he racked his mind, he couldn't calm down enough to think through the thick fog of panic that clouded his mind.

Dread filled him as he wondered what will happen next.

Surely he wouldn't just sit here and wait until Voldemort takes full possession of him? But what else could he do?

If he stopped eating, would he starve to death or would Voldemort take over first?

Or...

Would Voldemort's inner circle perform a ritual that would kill him and leave Voldemort in charge of his body?

...

Harry didn't know the answers to any of the questions his brain was frantically pumping up.

The tick of the clock was painfully loud in the large chamber, reminding him of his impending demise every second.

Harry looked around the room for something to do, anything to take his mind off his current situation so he could calm down enough to make a plan, then his eyes landed on the quill pen on the table.

It was where he wrote all his letters to the Order. Harry ran to the drawer and hauled it open.

He was beyond relieved to still find parchment paper in there, he supposed Bellatrix didn't see i threat to his safety and thus left it there.

His finger traced over the quill pen beside the paper absently.

If Voldemort was going to use his body, the least he could do was to ensure that his face could not be used to fool his loved ones...

But what should he write?

Should he simply tell them to kill him when they see him next? What are the chances that he might be able to escape?

Harry couldn't deny the small sliver of hope that his friends would eventually be able to save him, that he would be able to-

Harry shook his head. No, he could not trust his own judgements anymore. Any thoughts he has right now may very well be tainted by Dark Lord's influence.

A bitter smile quirked his lip as he imagined himself being back at the Order, his friends scolding him for being reckless. Their face flashed quickly before his eyes, Harry's fist tightened around the thin quill.

No, he would do anything to save them. Now that there's no hope for him, he could at least warn them.

A small part of him was feeling selfish, he wanted to at least leave something behind, and since Harry was not expecting to get out of this alive, or keep up the pretension any longer, perhaps he would indulge himself and sign his name on the letter just this time.

Yes, this would be his last letter.

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**A/N**: Special thank you to delenda est c and Red Furry Demon for continued support and reviews. Also, a big thank you to the rest of you for reading this fic. :)


	21. Possession

**Possession**

Harry sat down at the table, he meant to take a deep breath to calm himself, but only managed to draw in a shaky one due to the fact that even his lungs felt constricted from being trapped.

He poised the quill pen over the parchment paper, before he could write anything, a drop of ink landed on the paper. Frustration sparked inside him as he noticed his right hand shaking.

Abruptly, he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it behind him.

Harry closed his eyes and reprimanded himself for his lack of focus. When he opened them again, he found himself having just enough control of his body to begin his last letter addressed to Dumbledore.

He had meant to inform the Order that Voldemort was able to use his body when he was unconscious, but his hand has started shaking again, and his frantic scrawling only came out as HELP ME! I'M TRAPPED! SAVE ME! ...

Harry forced his hand away from the parchment paper and stared at his own words in disbelief. Once again he balled up the paper and threw it aside. He frowned as his checked how many sheets of paper did he have left.

Five, which means he should seriously stop messing up, but he had so much he wanted to say.

He wanted to tell Ron and Hermione that they are the best people he ever met, but winced at how cheesy it made him sound.

He wanted to tell Dumbledore sorry for not being able to complete the Prophesy and stop the reign of the Dark Lord... A hard lump formed in his throat. No... no... he must ignore the heavy feeling in his chest lest he... he...

Harry could feel his fingers digging into his palm as he tried to forget his earlier thought. He let his eyes wander his luxurious prison to get back into focus.

Once he felt he could trust his hand again, he started a new letter. This time he managed to briefly explained his conditions and warned the Order to treat him as Voldemort. Now...

Harry raised his head when he heard a soft rustling. A snowy white owl perched on his window ledge, Harry petted the animal affectionately, but the next second, his fingers tightened around the owl's neck. Hedwig struggled, she pecked at his fingers and gave out agonized cries.

"No!" Harry screamed. Willing for his fingers to let go, but they were numb and frozen. His arms were also stiff, they held the bird outside the window.

Harry watched in horror as his fingers continued to choke Hedwig. Eventually, the bird ceased to move. Harry let out a strangled noise himself.

He jumped back, Hedwig's corpse slipped out of his fingers.

It was as if his mind has receded into some distant part of his brain, Harry watched rigidly as the corpse of his beloved owl dropped to the ground below - the only white spot that stood out from the greyness outside.

It took Harry a while to get back to reality. When he did, he did the first thing that came to mind: He tried to fling himself out the window, but his fingers gripped the window ledge tightly, stopping him.

_Now, now, we wouldn't want that._ Harry jumped when he heard a drawl.

"Voldemort!" His head whipped around as he searched for the source of the voice frantically.

_Don't bother, I'm in your head, my little horcrux._

"Horcrux?" He echoed, his jaw slacked open as his brain tried to find another possible meaning to the words spoken to him pathetically.

_Ah, Harry, you have a piece of my soul in you, imagine my surprise when I discovered it! _The amused voice continued in his head.

"I don't want anything belonging to you." He answered stiffly. The voice chuckled.

_Did you not refer to Lucius as your follower?_ Voldemort asked suddenly.

"No!" Harry did not know where Voldemort was going. He hated amusing the other with his reaction, but he had to deny that claim, how ridiculous-

_ Did you not treat my Death Eaters as your servants? Did you not relish in their suffering? _

Ruthlessly, the Dark Lord continued on, his voice filled with smugness and mockery.

Harry spluttered, though he wanted to argue otherwise, he found himself unable to refute any of the things Voldemort had said.

An image of a horrified Death Eaters' faces lit up by a sickly green light filled his head.

Harry could hear Bellatrix Lestrange's scream, so real it was almost as if he had went back in time to stand before the witch as she laid squirming on the floor that day.

All those times... he could not help but feel a tinge of satisfaction when he reasoned that the Death Eaters are finally getting what they deserved...

Harry dropped to his knees. Patches of green filled his vision, not enough air was getting to his lungs.

"No..." Clutching his head, Harry whimpered as cruel laugh seemed to resonate from all directions.

_Everything I own are yours. You are me, Harry, it's your rightful power._

Then the world dissolved into darkness, but right before he completely lost touch with reality, Harry could faintly make out a small creak as the door to his chamber opened.

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**A/N**: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Yup, I'm a nasty person. Every time something nice happens, a horrible event is waiting around the corner. :P


	22. Saviour

**A/N**: Hi, thank you for reading and reviewing. I'm sorry the chapters are short, I don't really have them written down yet, not do I have any excuses for my laziness, it's um... well... life... yeah, that's sounds about right *gets smacked* However, here's what I can do, when I have the story finished, I can combine the chapters into longer ones if that's what most of you would like, let me know what you think! :)

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**Saviour**

When Harry opened his eyes again, Snape's face looming above him made him wonder if he's already in hell for the misdeeds he had done.

His Potions Professor didn't look stoic as usual, instead, the man looked almost... relieved as he stared into Harry's eyes.

Ok, he's definitely in hell, and make that a strange one.

Harry blinked, before he could figure out what was going on, Snape stood up abruptly. The support on Harry's neck disappeared. Harry felt his head fall back to the floor and pain exploded in the back of his already abused head.

"Ow..." Harry sat up. He winced when he felt for the back of his head, he's probably going to get a bruise there.

Snape walked toward the entrance of the room, and glanced out the door quickly down the both sides of the hallway. Then, he swiftly backed inside and closed the door behind him.

Harry stumbled a few steps forward hesitantly, unsure what to make of the situation.

Ever since he saw Snape contribute at the Death Eaters' meetings held at the Manor, Harry had been sure his Potions Professor was a Death Eater all along, but why is he here?

"Mr. Potter," Snape turned to gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement and reached into his robe.

Harry took a step back, did the traitor come here to end him so Voldemort could take over?

Instead of taking out his wand out to curse Harry, Snape took out two wands and tossed them onto the ground before him.

They clattered to the ground, and Harry immediately recognized them as his own holy wand and Voldemort's yew wand.

"Wha-"

"Take your own wand and leave." His Potions Professor said in a clipped tone, his face back in the usual stoic manner as if he's trying to endure another class of teaching Gryffindors.

Harry approached the wands cautiously. Just as he was about to reach out, he retracted his hand and looked at Snape, who raised an eyebrow at his behaviour.

"Oh believe me when I say I'll have you expelled once we get out of this, Mr. Potter, being the insufferable brat you are, I highly doubt you would make it to graduation under normal circumstances when your lack of wit couldn't even help you figure out who's on your side."

"Professor... I can't..." Harry started, but he didn't know how to continue.

Snape didn't speak, he simply waited for Harry's explanation.

Harry swallowed and ducked his head. He muttered his next few words quickly under his breath. Snape narrowed his eyes and walked toward Harry, who had to resist the urge to back away.

"Speak up." Commanded the man coldly.

Harry swallowed again, and repeated what happened between him and Voldemort earlier.

There was a cold smirk on Snape's face despite his frown, and he taunted, "I did not know the Gryffindor hero would be struck down by something so simple as that," Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Snape held up his hand to silence him, "Do you not believe in the Headmaster anymore?"

Harry hesitated, "but I-" He yelped when Snape gripped his shoulders harshly, and sucked in a sharp breath at the proximity of his professor.

"I'm not going to give you some pathetic 'Live On' speech, but listen," Severus Snape shook Harry once for emphasis, "Harry Potter, you are the prophesy child. If you are to die here, then the Dark Lord would rule without any obstacles. Do you want that?"

Harry shook his head vehemently. There was almost a hint of satisfaction on his professor's face as he released Harry to stand guard by the door again.

"Now pick up your wand, we don't have much time!"

Harry took his own holly one, but he had to resist his urge to take its ghostly looking brother as well.

"Professor..." Snape took a quick glance at him. His eyes fell onto the yew wand on the ground quickly before he dragged Harry toward the door and opened it. The Potions Professor looked down the other side of the hallway, wand gripped tightly in hand.

"Get to the drawing room, from there, take two right turns down the halls followed by a left, once you get out, you should be able to apparate. " He shoved Harry roughly down the hallway.

Harry didn't need to be told twice, he broke into a run.

It almost felt as if he was flying through the air. The new found sense of freedom was so sweet the burden of sharing a body with the Dark Lord was temporarily pushed to the back of his mind.

But fate hasn't done toying with him yet.


	23. Escape

**Escape**

Harry's route to escape had been almost a little too smooth.

Now he stood, wand pointed forward at a group of Death Eaters that had filed out of the drawing room.

"Out of my way." He gritted out.

"My Lord, please return to your room." Amycus Carrow muttered politely under his breath.

Harry narrowed his eyes.

There were about seven of them, he could spot Dolohov in the back, avoiding his eyes. Despite trying to appear submissive, they looked as if they were ready to physically wrestle Harry back into his prison if necessary.

"Duck." Harry could make out a quiet voice, he barely had the time to dodge a Stunning Spell from his back. He could feel it brushing the top of his head.

The man who had spoken earlier fell down with a soft thump, causing the other Death Eaters to scoot away and look behind Harry in surprise at the new arrival.

Snape emerged from the shadow with his wand raised and poised to fight.

"Severus, watch where you are aiming!" Amycus' sister, Alecto, protested indignantly.

Harry had to suppress an urge to facepalm. Some of the Death Eaters... they are certainly not very bright, to put it in a nice way...

Snape glanced at Harry once, he muttered a spell. A jet of red light flew toward Harry.

Harry had to freeze his body as he watched the Disarming Charm barrel toward him. The spell hit him square in the chest, causing him to stumble back a few steps toward the group of Death Eaters. His wand flew into the air, and landed straight into Snape's hand.

Snape lowered his own wand, "I'll take the boy back to his room," he said as he walked toward Harry while tucking Harry's wand into his robe.

"Severus," Harry turned around and found a blond Death Eater has stepped forward. If Harry recalled correctly, his name was... Yaxley?

"Why don't I escort our Lord back to his room with you?" Yaxley said lightly with his hands up in a pacifying posture, "just in case..." He left the rest of his words hanging, but his intentions were clear.

Harry was itching to curse the unpleasant grin off the man's face. He could feel his heart beating fast in his chest and his muscle all tensed as he readied himself for a duel with multiple opponents.

Suddenly, Harry could feel the back of his robe being pulled abruptly, causing him to lurch backward and nearly lose his balance.

"Very well then." His Potions professor spoke in a clipped tone behind him.

Just as Yaxley was about to start toward the two, there was a loud screech down the end of the hallway from behind Snape, followed by the loud clanking of high heels as their owner approached quickly. The Death Eaters fidgeted uncomfortably. Harry could feel Snape's hand tighten on his shoulder.

Things were going to turn out worse than he thought.

Bellatrix Lestrange stomped toward them, "Cissy was killed, so was Draco and Lucius!" She gave a loud wail at the ceiling.

"You!" She pointed an accusatory finger at Snape. Her eyes fell on Harry, who was half hidden behind Snape. She froze and a tremor ran through her outstretched hand as her mouth fell open.

Snape pulled Harry fully behind him. Harry risked a quick glance toward the Death Eaters, only to find them completely stiff. Their faces betraying the wariness they felt for the witch.

Bellatrix looked between him and Snape. Rage overtook her features as her brain comprehended the situation.

"Traitor!" She howled, "I knew you couldn't be trust-" Snape shot a quick spell toward Bellatrix before she could finish, and the witch pushed the spell aside with a leisure swing of her arm.

The next second, spells were flying at Harry and Snape from both directions. Harry ran forward as he prepared himself to escape by blasting a hole in the enemy's defense.

"Diffindo." A Death Eater dropped his wand and clutched at the gash on his forearm.

Harry was stopped in his track as the Death Eaters moved forward themselves. He barely had the time to cast a defensive charm at a spell speeding toward him while dodging another charm that nearly scraped his elbow. He backed away from a curse that had been aimed at his feet.

Harry managed to send forward a few attacking spells while defending himself from the Death Eaters, he was disappointed to see most of them either dodged or cancelled in mid air by their targets.

More spells were being flung at him, their forces driving Harry back until he could feel his back pressed against Snape's.

"Sectumsempra." The spell fell onto a Death Eater's shield. Harry felt almost guilty when Snape stiffened behind him at hearing his own invention.

Harry kept swishing his wand, his wrist was getting sore. He winced when he felt something slice his ankle. He had never dealt with so many spells flying toward him at once, but he had to force himself to keep going.

Beside him, Harry could feel Snape's body jolt from the force of a spell. He could hear Bellatrix's high pitched laughter rising above the commotion. Harry jumped when he felt something sniped at his robe, exposing his right knee. He returned the favour by hurling one of Voldemort's followers down the depth of the hallway, then casting a counter spell just in time at a rope that flew toward him.

Panic was growing inside him. They were sandwiched and clearly outnumbered. Even though Snape only had Bellatrix as his opponent, the witch was ruthlessness and sadistic, not to mention her skills and fierce devotion toward Voldemort made her more dangerous than ever. Furthermore... Bellatrix's attitude toward Snape... Harry never quite noticed before because he was busy planning with Lucius, but it would seem that the witch had some kind of personal grudge against Snape.

In the midst of fighting, he could hear Bellatrix's angered scream behind him and sense Snape frantic attempts to defend them from the witch's wrath.

"Protego Horribilis." There was a rushing sound as a great gust of wind descended and surrounded him and Snape, though Harry doubted the shield he created would last long with the colourful spells hurling themselves at his shield and hammering against it.

There was a loud boom as the wall beside them crumbled. Harry felt a yank on his arm as he and Snape backed into the room behind, causing Bellatrix and the Death Eaters to follow in and congregate together.

They were lucky that there weren't any more Death Eaters on the other side of the wall. Now that all their enemies have been gathered at one side, their chance of survival might be slightly higher, but if they couldn't finish fast, reinforcement could arrive any moment.

"Flippendo!" Sweat trickled down his temple. As soon as Harry blasted one Death Eater back, another took his place. Beside him, various spells shot out of Snape's wand as the man muttered words at an impossible speed under his breath. One more Death eater fell when Snape flicked his wand with a violent jerk and Harry had to defend the both of them from a curse casted their way by Bellatrix Lestrange.

Harry rolled aside just in time as a spell hit where he had been a second ago, blasting the chair beside him into pieces.

His eyes widened when he realised the name of the curse that had flew at him, it had been the eerie green curse he had became accustomed to in the past few days, but coming from... one of the Voldemort's followers?

A fury rose inside him at the idea that a Death Eater would use the Killing Curse on _him_, Harry didn't have time to think over his thoughts as another spell nearly hit him in the shoulder.

But apparently he wasn't the only one that was upset by the usage of the Killing Curse on him.

"Who did that?" Bellatrix screeched as she whirled on her own people, a Death Eater that Harry blasted earlier was just getting back to his feet, but he nearly fell over again at Bellatrix's wail.

Snape took the chance to shatter the shield she had placed on herself earlier and Harry casted Confundo on the Death Eater who got up, causing him to fall back again, but the rest of the Death Eaters weren't looking at them, they look like they were trying to stop themselves from shaking on the spot as Bellatrix shoved a Death Eater aside roughly in her rage.

Harry tried another spell on Bellatrix, but the witch flicked it away with her wand without even looking at him. Before she could turn on Harry again, there was a crack by his side and Dobby appeared next to him.

The frail elf stumbled on his feet, disoriented.

"Dobby, take us out of here!" Harry said quickly.

Just as the elf hurriedly reached out the grab Snape's and his hand, Harry could hear Bellatrix yell, "No, he mustn't leave!"

There was a flash of silver, and Harry felt Dobby jerk beside him. The sight of the Manor began to melt away before his eyes.

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you all for the advices! I decided to try my hand at fighting scenes. If I recalled correctly, this is probably the first longer duelling scenes I've written (I doubt I had any in my other fic). Hopefully it didn't turn out too horrible. My apologies to the readers who prefer short chapters. Thank you again for reading and helping me improve! :)


	24. Ron

**Ron**

Ron knew that Harry would eventually come to his senses, his stubborn mate had refused outside help for so long, but as dangerous as the nature of the mission is, even Harry wouldn't be able to deal with it alone.

The Order had just received a mail from Harry. It was disconcerting to see the letter written in such a desperate, hurried manner that his Mum insisted that Harry's friends be let in on the news about Harry, and once the cats were out of the bag, there was no going back.

While members of the Order were heatedly debating their course of action and trying to figure out whether it's a trap, Ron and Hermione snuck off to prepare themselves to take off despite others' advices. Since Dumbledore didn't do anything to stop them, it was unlikely that the Headmaster was in terrible disapproval of their action.

"Ron," Hermione called out hesitantly, Ron didn't stop packing. They'll need everything, muggle weapons or not.

"Ron-"

"What?" He whipped around impatiently, but soon, his voice softened once he realized he had lost his composure, "I'm sorry, 'mione, it's just I-"

"It's ok. I feel the same, but I was just finding it strange that I haven't seen Hedwig for a while..." Hermione swallowed, "I just... I have a bad feeling about this, worse than every single time you two dragged me along on your reckless acts. Maybe we should at least talk to Remus-"

"Remus was the one who covered for us. If he didn't conveniently push us under the table, we would probably still be stuck there with members of the Order yelling over each other," Hermione opened her mouth, but Ron continued on, "and who's to say there could not be a few traitor within the Order itself? Snape betrayed the Death Eaters easily enough." Hermione turned away from him, Ron followed triumphantly.

"You know, 'mione, if we get back, we'll be stuck there! Have you forgotten how hard it was to have someone babysit us all day long while Harry was facing all the danger himself?" Ron could feel desperation rising in him as he remembered the past while. If they go back now... they could be stuck under surveillance and not knowing anything like before, and he swore to Merlin he might as well kill himself from frustration.

Hermione shook her head. Then, quietly, she muttered, "blast it all. I don't even care if we get expelled for this anymore."

Ron forced himself to grin despite his own heart pounding from nervousness, "a little price to be paid for being the Harry's best mates."

Just as they were about to leave, Ginny appeared at the doorway and begged him to take her along. His baby sister had refused to listen to reason, she even threatened to go with or without him. Blunt as he was, Ron wasn't completely unaware of the romantic feelings Ginny harbored for Harry.

"You better make through this one, mate, because you will be in a lot of trouble if you hurt Ginny." Ron grumbled to himself.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny apparated to where Harry told them to meet him in the letter.

A dense fog surrounded the warehouse. When they got closer, they realized it seemed old and on the verge of breaking. They waited in the bush facing the entrance for a while, Ron wondered why did Harry ask to meet them in a place like this.

Suddenly, there was movement at the side of the building. A lithe figure dashed out and sped into the building. Ginny was about to chase after the person, but Ron grabbed her.

His sister glared at him, he shook his head in warning.

Beside them, Hermione muttered under her breath, "Homenum Revelio," she closed her eyes in concentration for a second, when she opened them, she couldn't help the smile on her face.

"One human," she whispered, "I don't know if there are any magical creatures, but only one human is in that building."

The declaration made Ron excited. The person who ran into the building... from the height and build... it must have been Harry. Even Ginny had commented earlier, after furiously wiggling out of his grasp, that she can recognize his messy dark hair anywhere.

Carefully, the three went into the abandoned building.

There was not a single spot of light inside. All three of them lit up their wands, wheeling around wildly as they took in their surroundings.

The inside of the building was huge, much larger than it seemed from looking outside. The chilly air made them shiver. Darkness seemed to expand forever before them.

They stayed there cautiously for a moment. When they couldn't detect any movement, they walked further into the darkness.

Deeper into the building, there was the sound of trickling water somewhere. Ron positioned himself to shield the two girls at the same time in case the person was not Harry.

"Harry? You there mate?" Ron called out questioningly. His voice echoed in darkness.

A ghostly whimper deeper into the building made Ron jump. Under the illumination of the light Hermione's eyes met his quickly, worry creased her forehead. Behind them, Ginny bit her bottom lip. Ron nodded, and the three Gryffindor rushed toward the source of the sound.

It felt as if they had been running for a long time. Suddenly, Ron felt himself almost tripping over something and he let out an unmanly howl when he felt it was long and... in a coil.

"Snake! Snake!" He jumped backward and shielded his face with his elbows in case the creature decided to spring up and attack him. He ran into someone, the gasp behind him confirmed that it was Hermione. Ron could hear the sound of her wand clattering onto the ground.

"Don't be such a wuss, it's just a coil of rope." Ron heard Ginny grumbled under her breath.

He peeked over his arms, her sister had went over to the rope and kicked the rotten thing with her foot, and Ron felt his cheeks burning from embarrassment. Hermione groaned as she went to pick up her wand, light still shooting out form its tip.

"L-Let's keep going." He walked ahead quickly, but came to an abrupt halt when Ginny gasped. To their left, something moved in the darkness. Ron motioned for the two girls to stay where they were, Hermione and Ginny shot him disgruntled looks but they obeyed.

Ron moved closer cautiously, the light of his wand eventually reached the back of thin body trembling in a corner. Ron wondered if he got the wrong person, he thought the body that dashed into the warehouse had looked pretty strong, but this man in front of him was... He was so thin he could almost be mistaken for a boy if not for the length of his torso.

"Harry?" The man jolted as if in recognition of the name. Ron advanced further until he's standing directly above the crouching body, he wrinkled his nose at the smell.

Ron touched the man's shoulder gently. Hope rose in his heart at the thought of finding his best mate despite his earlier doubts.

The man jumped at the contact, then he turned slowly, eyes narrowed into tiny slits under his greasy hair as he squinted at the light.

Ron couldn't help his indignation at seeing the state of his best mate.

Harry was hurt badly. Scrapes and bruises covered any skin that's exposed. His robe was dusty and odorous. His long messy hair it covered most of his face, which had became so thin his cheeks hollowed out to the point of looking almost skeletal, but he was alive.

It was undeniably Harry.

Not withholding his joy, Ron embraced his friend, feeling slightly surprised when he felt how slim his mate had became. Harry stiffened before returning the hug by placing his arms awkwardly around Ron.

"Ginny, Hermione! Come here! It's Harry!" He laughed while he pulled back and punched Harry playfully on the shoulder, who tried to move away from him.

"Oh sorry, mate." Ron scratched the back of his head, suddenly remembering that Harry is too weak to take a punch from him right now, "I say, 'mione, Ginny, what are you doing there? It's Harry! Come!"

No reply came.

"...'mione?"

Still no response.

In fact the silence was getting eerie, not even the sound of dripping water they had heard when they first entered could be heard.

Ron frowned, trepidation thick in his limbs, he turned around and gaped at what he saw.

Under the light of his wand, the bodies of the girls were in a heap on the ground. Ron ran toward them in horror.

"Ginny, 'mione, wake up! " He shook the bodies, but no matter how much he shook them, they wouldn't move. The girls' eyes were tightly shut. Ron felt himself relaxing slightly when he saw the steady rise and fall of their chests. He shook Hermione's shoulder again.

Behind him, Harry was quiet.

"Help me, mate, we need to get them out of here!" Ron urged him.

There was a soft rustling as Harry got up. Ron could hear a few footsteps as Harry approached, "They won't wake."

Ron looked back, ready to say something to his mate who was acting weird. The words froze in his mouth.

Harry... no... not really, the man who looked like him was dressed in an expensive looking dark robe. His long hair shrunk back to become short and clean cut, showing his strong jaw. The wounds have disappeared. It's as if his filthy mate on the verge of death from earlier had disappeared into thin air.

Harry didn't have his trademark glasses, but that wasn't Ron's main concern, crimson eyes rested on him in boredom.

Before Ron could react, a burst of energy hit him from the back and drowsiness began to engulf him.

His eyes widened, before he had fade into unconsciousness, he muttered, voice barely above a whisper.

"Harry, why?"

Harry grinned at him cheerfully.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading and thanks for the encouragement! I was debating whether I should make Harry grin cheerfully or smile cruelly or coldly, but eventually I settled on the former since I felt it was creepier... hope that didn't upset any of you.


	25. Ginny

**Warning**: hints of adult content at the end

**Ginny**

"Ginny, wake up! Wake up!"

Hot breath puffed against her face. Ginny wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they've been glued closed.

"What..." She managed to slur, voice still thick from sleep.

"Oh, Ginny, thank goodness, you are still alive." Strong arms encased her in a warm embrace before she could fully come to her senses.

Ginny was startled, then faintly, she whispered, "Ha-Harry, is it really you? " She fervently prayed to whatever deity out there for this to be real, but she didn't dare to place too much hope on it. This scenario had occurred too many times in her dream... No, Ginny didn't want to wake up again. She didn't want to feel cold sweat breaking on her brows, nor did she wished to feel restless yet sleepy as she endured the silent loneliness of the night.

Harry didn't answer. He simply grip her tighter, as if he's desperate to make her part of him.

"I missed you so much." After a long while, he finally managed what almost sounded like a broken whimper. His shoulders shook.

Ginny ran her fingers through Harry's hair. The other stiffened, then relaxed under he touch. She relished his familiar scent. Her vision became hazy from the tears as she pulled on the strands gently to confirm with herself, again and again, that's she's not dreaming, that Harry's really here.

Harry pulled back from their embrace, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Her eyes widened in surprise when his lips moved to trail small kisses along her neck. It was so unlike Harry to be doing this, but she didn't want to push him away and hurt his feelings, who knew what he must been through at the hand of Death Eaters...

"I came back for you. I love you." Harry's whisper against her skin interrupted her thought. He continued to kiss her, his lips began to move lower.

Feeling uncomfortable, Ginny pushed him back and fidgeted nervously, she swallowed, trying to ignore the sudden apprehension that's gathering in the pit of her stomach. But it's only Harry, correct? What harm would he ever do?

"Ha-" Ginny wanted to apologize, her eyes met his and she had to stifle a gasp from coming at the sight of Harry. Under the shadows covering his face, his crimson eyes seemed to glow at her.

"Harry, what happened to your eyes?" Ginny meant to stroke Harry's cheek, but he caught her hand just as she reached out. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath through his teeth.

"Voldemort caused it, " Harry sighed, "I can't change it back..." he sounded as helpless as a child.

"Don't worry about it," Ginny felt guilty for mentioning his eyes. She frantically added, "I'm sure Dumble-"

"Ginny," she stopped when Harry grimaced, he seemed to have suddenly remembered something. His tone became rushed and urgent, "we have to get out of here, Ginny, the Death Eaters are here, we must have gotten separated from Ron and Hermione."

"But how did I-"

"There's no time to explain. I'll tell you the whole thing once we get out of here."

Ginny nodded, Harry helped her up and he tugged her along. There was noise coming from behind them and Harry narrowed his eyes dangerously, Ginny could feel her heart racing as she ran with Harry.

The warehouse was rather maze-like inside, Ginny wondered why would anyone build it in such a fashion.

Perhaps that's the reason it was abandoned... the workers couldn't find their way. Ginny mused silently, her eyes fell on the paint that was flaking off the decaying walls, the stale air and dust falling due to them running through the place made her nose wrinkle.

Something wasn't right. They were turning into narrower routes; and the further they go, the dustier the place gets. Cobwebs hung from the ceilings and black blotches of fungi covered the walls. A thick layer of dust on the ground was kicked up in the air as they raced through.

The place seemed undisturbed, which made Ginny wonder if they were going deeper into the building. Though she trusted Harry, a claustrophobic feeling gripped Ginny's heart and made her uneasy.

Ginny stopped in her track, which also caused Harry to skid to a stop, he looked back at her in question.

"I-I can't run anymore." She panted.

"But we have to, else they will catch us." Harry said calmly. He sounded perfectly fine after running for so long.

Ginny bent over to catch her breath. She squealed when Harry bent down to hook one of his arm behind her knees while keeping the other behind her back. With a huff, he hoisted her up and carried her bridal style in his arms, her own arms automatically wound themselves around the other's neck to keep balance.

"Let's go." He grinned at her blush and carried her forward. Not far from them, Ginny heard what sounded like a wall crumbling.

Harry started running again. Ginny was worried about becoming a burden to Harry, yet she couldn't help but smile in content when she heard the steady rhythm of his heart. She was a little surprised that his breath didn't even sound laboured nor did his heart beat any faster from all these work, but with Boy-Who-Lived, anything could be possible.

It's been so long since she last saw him. She had thought Harry was dead in the Ministry, she was ecstatic when he came back from the grave, then he disappeared again. Ginny was devastated when Dumbledore announced at the Order that Harry was forced to be with the Death Eaters, but now she had him back again, she won't let him go again no matter what.

"Promise you won't leave me again." She gripped the front of his shirt as she hid her face in his chest, the remaining of her tears from earlier stained the fabric and her body shook.

Harry suddenly halted. He didn't say a word.

Ginny looked up at him in confusion.

Harry's face was deathly pale. Beads of sweat was breaking on his forehead. His grip on her tightened to the point of pain. Ginny yelped, then she noticed that Harry has started shaking again, almost like he was scared. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Ginny tried to read his lips, but raised her eye brows in confusion.

...Run, he says?

Harry tried again, his eyes widened and he was desperately trying to get the words out, but all he managed was a muted squeak that died in his throat as soon as it had came out. His body was stiff and rigid. In the dim light, Ginny could make out a vein on his temple.

"Harry," her hands cupped his face. His cheeks were cold and damp under her touch, "Harry let me down." He set her down wordlessly and put his hands on her shoulders, Ginny could still feel him shaking.

Harry's hand moved to give her a gentle push. Ginny looked at him, puzzled, but Harry slowly stumbled back away from her, his expression a mixture of fear and panic.

"Run," he finally managed to croak out, he panted heavily from speaking that word alone. Worriedly, Ginny took a step closer to Harry.

"Harry, are you-"

"GO!" He suddenly roared and gave her a rough shove.

It was a plea of a desperate man, his face was mangled. His eyes opened so wide it was as if his eyes balls might pop out of their sockets, his mouth opened and closed, he gritted his teeth and emitted an anguished half scream as he tried to slam his body against the wall, dust fell from the ceiling, coating his hair, suddenly making him look more aged than he was.

"Go," he panted again, "RUN AWAY!" He banged his head against the wall. Startled and not knowing what to do, Ginny turned around a ran. Her heart pounding in her ear as Harry's scream echoed in the hallways behind her. She kept running as if possessed by fear itself. It took her a while before Ginny realized what she was doing and came to a halt.

What did Harry push her away? If he's suffering, shouldn't she be by his side to comfort him? Ginny felt guilt swallowing him. Just as she was about to return, her eyes widened when a pair of arms closed around her.

Ginny struggled vigorously. She kicked the shin of her attacker multiple times as she let out battle cries to keep herself going. There was a low grunt behind her.

"Ginny, stop... It's me!" Harry's pained voice behind her had Ginny stop in the middle of another kick.

"Harry?" She asked quickly, adrenaline dying down in her body.

He turned her around and cradled her head to his shoulder.

"Shh, it's ok now." He soothed her as he stroke her hair. Ginny returned the embrace.

"You scare me. What happened?" Her voice was muffled. His hand paused in the middle of stroking her.

"Ginny, I will never let you go." Harry said quietly instead of replying.

There was a pull at her navel and the next second, she was flying through air, only to land on something nice and soft.

Ginny was confused, she looked up from the mattress to her surroundings. It seemed that she has been transported to another place. The room was lavishly decorated. Her eyes landed on Harry, who suddenly looked well groomed and was currently taking off a fine robe casually.

"Harry? " Ginny inquired, she could feel gooseflesh rising on her arms as she met Harry's hungry red eyes. Instinctively, she scooted backward, unaware that she just moved further into the bed.

"Yes, my dear?" His voice came out mockingly sweet as he sauntered toward the bed, a predator like smirk on his face.

"Where-where are..." Ginny squealed when Harry came swooping down and pushed her down onto the bed, restraining her wrist with one hand while his other hand began to strip her.

"We are going to have some fun, Ginerva Weasely." There was a twisted smile on Harry's face that she had never seen before. Ginny couldn't help the scream that ripped itself out of her throat.

_Harry_ never called her that.

* * *

**A/N**: Just being a little creepy with this one, I suppose? I blame the zombie dream I had last night, been doing too many runs with a fitness app that imply zombies are after you... Thank you for your encouragement and for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Thanks! :)


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